Petroleum refiners produce desirable product/s by hydrocracking a hydrocarbon feedstock. Hydrocracking is accomplished by contacting the hydrocarbon feedstock, hydrogen and a hydrocracking catalyst at an elevated temperature and pressure to obtain a desired product/s. Most of today's hydrocracking processes are based on zeolite catalysts. The zeolite catalysts used for hydrocracking consists of two components namely, hydrogenation component and acid component. The hydrogenation component consists of Group VIII noble metals optionally in a combination with Group VIII and/or Group VIB metals, whereas the acid component consists of zeolites, amorphous silica-alumina gel, transition alumina or aluminosilicate. The acid component of the zeolite catalyst provides a support to the hydrogenation components and acts as a cracking catalyst. Such zeolites, to be useful for hydrocracking the hydrocarbon feedstock, should remain active and stable for a longer duration to completely convert the feed stock into the desired product/s.
However, currently available catalysts though stable and selective are not active enough to completely convert the olefins into higher octane components such as isoparaffins, naphthenes or aromatics. These unconverted olefins remain in the final product and adversely affect the quality and the functioning of the final product. For instance, the unconverted olefins present in the gasoline are detrimental to the engine of a vehicle as they form a sticky gum.
Further, the unconverted olefins in the gasoline also contribute to the environmental pollution.
Therefore, there is felt a need for a catalyst composition that is capable of reducing the olefin content in the hydrocarbon stream into the desired products which are substantially free of olefins.